It has long been known to provide specially shaped pillows for various reasons. If a patient's head and neck are not properly supported during an operation, the patient's head may roll from side to side. Such uncontrolled movement might result in serious injury to the patient.
Some pillows have been developed to keep the head steady during administration of anesthesia. Such pillows are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,199,479 and 3,694,831. Other pillows have been developed for therapeutic reasons, such as to relieve muscle tension or to promote a particular curvature of the cervical spine. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,700,779; 3,521,310 and 3,757,364.
In viewing the prior art, it becomes clear that the presently available medical and therapeutic pillows are generally directed to a single function, such as vertical support of the head or the positioning of the neck. However, they fail to provide the four critical modes of support for the head and neck of a supine person to protect against movement of the head and the neck; that is to simultaneously provide vertical support for the head and neck as well as lateral support for the head and neck.